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Charlottesville 2017

We are experiencing a moral, spiritual, social and political crisis whose magnitude has not been seen before. As someone who has spent the all of my adult life involved in healing at an individual and societal, level, I cannot allow my deepening pain, outrage and concern over the developments in the United States and the recent events in Charlottesville Virginia and the administration and Donald Trump’s response to go uncommented.

But we must understand this is not only about Donald Trump, not only about a president who publicly aligns himself with the ultra-right and excuses violence, these are but symptoms of a deep-rooted disease that needs to be spoken to acted against and treated.

Though Right-wing violence is an issue that must be addressed, it is still a symptom. We cannot only treat the symptoms alone without treating the roots if we want to change this dangerous course. Trump, and the silence around him, creates an atmosphere of acceptability for the un-acceptable.

The United States of (north) America is a country whose original social and economic foundations were built upon racism and national and ethnic chauvinism. Nationalism, Racism and the ideology of White Supremacy and Chauvinism is so deeply rooted and so subtly infused in the America and western world that we often only see and respond to current events as tragic unfortunate developments, but business as usual.

For too long have we allowed racial, xenophobic, chauvinistic and nationalistic clichés in small things to color our thinking, humor, politics and social life disguising their roots and playing down the consequences in our daily life. Due to the normalcy of this we often react with a feeling of powerlessness, underestimating the dire need and importance to speak out and act in defense of human life and rights. We have far too often dismissed those who act in this manner as “fringe elements” denying the fact that the very base of our society is infused with this thinking.

We can no longer stand on the sidelines waiting to see how this is going to develop. We cannot continue to see this as in anyway shape or form as justifiable, acceptable or the logical consequence of demographic developments.

We have a moral, political and spiritual responsibility to honestly address this deadly course manifest in the populist, racist, nationalist and xenophobic rhetoric and actions that are taking place in the United States.

By not taking a stand and opposing this development, we become culpable, silent conspirators to these events.

As distressing as all of this is we cannot allow these events to frustrate and paralyze those of us committed to spiritual uplift, social justice and healing.

There is hope, there are many who are standing up and speaking up against this new wave of hatred and violence. Historically there are now more voices speaking up and expressing the true nature and hopes of the United States than ever before. For that I am ever grateful.

Let our voices and actions not disappear in the phony arguments and battles of those who are determined to undermine all that we hold dear.

We have an historic responsibility to lead and set the tenor of this discussion, and ensure that the focus is on the principles of anti-racism and human rights and not allow ourselves to get diverted in to arguments about side issues. Racism, Chauvinism, Nationalism, Xenophobia and White Supremacy in any form and under any name is criminally wrong and unacceptable.

We have to look to our own hearts, not elsewhere, to provide us with the moral and spiritual leadership and clarity necessary in healing our society.